Officials in Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria, backed by Russia, said Friday that two attempts to attack infrastructure in the regional capital, Tiraspol, have been recorded.
“At 04:15 a vehicle stopped near a company’s oil depot. An unidentified man got off, threw Molotov cocktails at the building and fled,” the interior ministry of the self-proclaimed republic said in a statement. The fire was briefly under control.
Thirty minutes later, “two Molotov cocktails were thrown” at a recruitment agency in Tiraspol city centre. The ministry said the fire was also “quickly brought under control” by security.
The events came after reports of attacks were reported in the separatist region for fears that the conflict in neighboring Ukraine could affect the country.
Transnistria, a separatist region backed by Russia, announced its separation from Moldova in 1992 after a brief war. Since then, Russia has maintained 1,500 troops in the region.
Fears that the conflict in Ukraine could spill over into Transnistria have risen after a Russian general said the Kremlin’s offensive on Ukraine was aimed at creating a corridor to the pro-Moscow separatist zone.
Ukraine accuses Russia of trying to “destabilize” Transnistria to justify military intervention.
source: Noticias
